Monday, October 10, 2011

My Very Own Dr Frankenstein

With the major success of what may have been the best chocolate chip cookies of my torrid 29 years - and with so much time for number crunching, research, thinking - I've been left feeling a little like Dr. Frankenstein. Gathering all my parts - don't worry mom, none of my parts are remains of any kind - ideas, information, and getting ready to hole myself up in the laboratory, or, uh, kitchen for the winter to build my monster - in hopes that I can unveil something fantastic next spring.

While I'm on this mission for cookie glory, why limit myself to the basics? I love a good sugar cookie - peanut butter cookies make my knees weak - nothing says, "hey, kid. I was thinking of you, and how ridiculously awesome you are" like a chocolate chip cookie and a glass of milk after school. Everyone does them - some well, some acceptably, some not so great. Why make that the source of competition? A new arm, or, errr, ingredient makes everyone feel new and shiny. New eyes make things look better. Adding a little jolt of electricity (I'm thinking corn flakes and candy corn) livens the party. You probably catch my drift...

The first time I fell in loved with Baked, in Red Hook, Brooklyn - it was for their (practically world famous) brownie. I have to shamefully admit that I've never actually had it from the shop - just the straight-up super chocolate awesome recipe version - it really is the best one around. My only decent excuse is that there was just too much to choose from! I got a little overwhelmed. The second time I found myself swooning - yes, I know, its a pattern - was for their monster cookie. An enormous amalgamation of peanut butter, oats, chocolate chips and M&M's. It turns out my beast-son - he'll grow out of the beast part soon, I hope - is enamored with them when I switch it up with peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips, and M&M's. We don't do anything cookie-related halfway, and we're all about the heft of these monsters. He says, "You know mom, they're ok normally, but epic the way you make them." So here is where we jump off...

Everyone believes that cookies can be ok - why not make them "epic" or a little freaky (freaky delicious, of course)? Lets be all about leaving people thinking, "I had no idea a cookie could be like this!" Like I've always believed - cookies never get the play they deserve. We're entirely too willing to settle for a plain Jane cookie - too often from a box - when in reality, they are compact, durable, and endlessly versatile. So, whether its PB OD - a peanut butter cookie, peanut butter chips, and peanut butter Cap'n Crunch - or a Brewers' Banana - banana cookie made with hefeweizen syrup and malt balls - I can't wait to back slowly away from the kitchen, exclaiming, "Its alive!"